Arsenal 1-3 Man United : Slack Arsenal taught a footballing lesson

Alright then, this is not going to be easy reading. Let me begin with Arsene Wenger's post-game reaction:

It was a bad day at a moment where you cannot afford it. It's unusual from us to be as poor as we have been today. Everywhere, in every area, we have been really, really poor. We gave the game away. It is a massive blow.

In yesterday's blog I referenced the last time United came to the Grove and unfortunately yesterday was almost a carbon copy. Same scoreline, same feelings of dejection and and despair afterwards. The crucial difference for me is that in April United were playing brilliantly, on their way to another league triumph and heading for the Champions League final. 

Yesterday we faced a United team that, on paper at least, looked beatable. No Vidic. No Ferdinand. Rookie right back. Portugal's answer to Glen Helder on the right hand side. It's never, ever easy against United but we've faced stronger teams than that in the past and got the points. And for the first half an hour the game was anyone's. We had chances, mostly via Andrei Arshavin who seemed determined to make his mark, even if he might have been a little more aware of his teammates on a couple of occasions. 

United were having plenty of success down our left hand side, clearly targetting Gael Clichy from the off, and it worked. A number of times we had to scramble it away as they got in behind us - the warning signs were there. And while the game ended up similar to United's last visit, it had echoes of Chelsea's visit in November. Two goals in quick succession not long after the half hour and United were never in danger of losing it after that.

For the first Nani, who thus far in his career has done little but look like a cast-off member of 5 Star or DeBarge, was made look brilliant by Clichy and Nasri's tame effort to double team him. His trick bamboozled both of them, Denilson's attempt at a challenge was beyond pathetic and Nani dinked the ball towards the back post. To be fair the United players were queueing up to put it in but Manuel Almunia saved them the bother and flapped into the net. 1-0 to United. A stupid goal to give away but nowhere near as stupid as the second.

We had a corner, got the second ball, Gallas gave it to Arshavin who was robbed in the box trying to dribble past three men, they clipped it out to Rooney who should have been kicked up in the air at that point. Instead Clichy stood off him, he sprayed it wide to Nani who drove on. What happened next should be like one of those 'This is not what to do ... ever' videos. We went back as Nani went forward, Denilson ambled towards our goal, a perfunctory effort to look involved without ever being aware of the danger, and he didn't spot Rooney's run until it was too late. His finish was first class and from a position where were attacking it was now 2-0 United. Defensively it was shambolic and frankly unacceptable at this level.

So 2-0 at half-time and any chance of three points was gone. In my lifetime I can't remember us coming back from two down against United to win a game but at least there was the vague hope that a rollicking from Arsene might spark some life into them. An early goal in the second half and who knows? The third goal came just seven minutes into the half. Denilson lost possession in their half, they played it forward to Park who was allowed to run and run and run and run and run and run while Clichy played startled rabbit. Eventually Park, who I'm sure couldn't believe his luck, just slotted it home at the near post. I know United had men over but Clichy had to go make a challenge at least, make him do something, you never know you might get a foot on the ball. That Denilson was overtaken by the referee as he 'chased' back says everything you need to know about him at the moment.

We pulled one back late on through Thomas Vermaelen, Alex Song's efforts were not rewarded with a goal but he came close once or twice, but up the other end we were pulled apart almost at will. Rooney terrorised us, might have scored a couple more and in the end I think we were lucky to get away with only conceding three. United deserved the points, absolutely no doubt about it. I mentioned something on the blog yesterday about how they may not be the team they were but they still have that desire and sheer will to win which is so valuable. 

Compare and contrast with some of our players and it's shocking. It's hard to say that the gap has closed at all since that Champions League semi-final. The gap, the gulf, is still there. What hurts most though is the fact that they wanted it more. They worked harder than us. They busted a gut for 90 minutes, we had daydreaming strollers out there, convinced they're the bees-knees just because they wear an Arsenal shirt. 

For me we had three players yesterday who were absolute passengers and you can't possibly win a game against United with 8 players. I don't know what has happened to Gael Clichy but it's obvious he's struggling badly. United knew it, they went at him from the first whistle and it worked for them. He is playing so poorly, he has been all season really, and I've got huge doubts about him now. The problem is the alternative, Traore, is not much better. However, while Clichy's form might be as dodgy as anything, I won't ever fault him for application. He tries and he works hard.

Which brings me to Denilson. If you had hoped he might learn a lesson from the second goal against Stoke last weekend then watching him yesterday was even more painful. Lack of ability is one thing, it's not a player's fault if he's picked, but lack of effort is unforgivable. Denilson is just plain lazy and stupid at this moment in time. I've already highlighted his lack of awareness for Rooney's run. Contrast the two. Rooney is going flat out to try and score. At the very least Denilson should be doing the same to stop him. Problem is he has no clue he's even there and after more than 150 games for us he does not have the excuse of inexperience. He gave the ball away for the third then didn't even try. The ref, a 40-something year old man, ran faster than him. Get Aaron Ramsey in this team now. Let Denilson be the squad fodder he is. He said he'd show Evra and United he was man, it wasn't men against boys. He was a boy. 

Finally, the goalkeeper. Can anyone look at him and not see a man who is broken? His head is melted. There are those who will say he didn't have much chance with the first but flapping into the net like that is symptomatic of his season. It's his second own goal and after the one against Man City he had that 'chest infection' and didn't play for some time. The kick out late in the second half straight to a United player would have been comical if it had been another keeper for another team ... but it was our keeper. It was the kick of a man who doesn't really care anymore, or can't care. He is a nervous wreck and I'll continue to say it transmits itself to rest of the defence. Goodplaya reckons he and Gallas don't even make eye contact anymore. How is this being allowed to continue?

I know Fabianski is not the man to fill anyone with boundless confidence but we cannot afford to continue with Almunia in goal anymore. It's sad to see him go backwards so badly. I thought he was going to at least maintain the level of the last two years this season. I was wrong. This is the Almunia that first joined us. A Spanish second division fill-in and Arsene has to call time on him now. Let Fabianski have a run, he can't possibly be any worse, and if he is then at least we know where the money's got to spent this summer. 

Ahh, the money. And the manager. If we're pointing fingers today, and unfortunately it's a natural reaction to such a crushing defeat, then ultimately we have to look at Arsene. We played Manchester United at home yesterday without a striker in our first XI. I know Arshavin is nominally a number 10 but he played as a central striker. Nasri and Rosicky are not strikers. Arshavin is not a striker. We played United without a striker in our first XI. Arsenal. With no striker. Unbelievable.

He spoke in December and January about bringing in a striker, saying he'd like to do his business 'quickly' and 'as soon as possible'. He knew van Persie was out injured, he knew Bendnter would only be coming back to fitness at this point. He must have known Eduardo would pick up another injury because that's what happens to Eduardo. He knew Theo Walcott was just coming back from injury. He thinks so little of Carlos Vela at the moment that despite not having a striker to start the game the Mexican wasn't even on the bench. Yet no signing was made and we played United without a striker in the first XI.

I've said all through January I thought we needed a couple of signings to freshen things up, to address some of the problems the team has, and to give us the best chance of winning something this season. I don't buy this mantra about not being able to find players who would improve us. Are we seriously supposed to believe that a man of Arsene's encyclopedic football knowledge, with an unparalleled scouting network across the world, was unable to find any player who could come into the side and do a decent job for us? I don't believe that. I find his reluctance to spend money frustrating and baffling in equal measure. 

Players who have done nothing for us in terms of helping us win trophies are rewarded with nice new long-term contracts, and healthy pay-rises no doubt, yet there's no money spent on new players who might do more to help us win things. What's even more worrying for me is that Ivan Gazidis, who has impressed in his role in his first 12 months, now seems to be just parroting the manager's point of view. I've said it before, we don't have to find 'world class' players to sign, just good players who can do a job. It's not as if any new signing would have 'world class' players in front him, is it? You don't need to be a world class striker to be better than Vela or Walcott or Bendtner at the moment. You would barely need to be competent to improve us in the goalkeeping area and to hear that excuse rattled out again and again is maddening. 

I thought we had a real chance at the league this season. Now Arsene says it will take 'something special' to win it. I know the transfer market has been quiet but we've got the money from the Adebayor/Toure sales sitting there waiting to be spent. The transfer deadline closes today at 5pm and it's surely too late to do anything ... even if we wanted to. I think he's made a big mistake by not strengthening the squad, by not signalling our intent to go and win this. He wanted to do it with his players, with the ones he's put all this faith in, and this hubristic approach has probably cost us any chance of winning the title this season. It's all well and good being critical of the players after the game but they're his players, this is the injury prone, lethargic squad he has built and at the end of the day the buck stops with the manager.

On the commentary yesterday Martin Tyler said "For Arsenal the question is where do we go from here? The answer is Stamford Bridge", which is about the last place you want to go. Of course a win there would open things up again and a win against Liverpool would see us head into the run-in, which is about as easy a run in as we've ever had, in good shape. 

The manager says the players need to stick together and react. We've made life extremely difficult, but not quite impossible, for ourselves. There's a glimmer of hope but if we go to Chelsea with the same kind of team, the same attitude, then we'll get turned over and no mistake. If we can't do anything to change the make-up of the squad then the only thing we can do is change the attitude. Learn from United who showed us what desire, hard work and will to win can do for a team. Unfortunately there seem to be too few of our squad for whom that kind of desire comes naturally, they're content to coast along, enjoying the privilged, cosseted life of an Arsenal player.

Till tomorrow when we unveil the new loan signings of Kaba Diawara and George Wood.